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In this issue:
| Feature: TI's Julie England Addresses 3,000+ Attendees During RFID World 2005 Keynote |
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With the RFID market poised to surge from millions to billions of tags over the next five years, a critical mass of the technology will spur innovation and new applications across the enterprise value chain, said Julie England, vice president of Texas Instruments and general manager of TI's RFID business.
"Wireless RFID data acquisition and value-chain applications will create new business models, much like the cell phone has shifted the market from voice-only to a range of messaging, data and transaction services," said England in a keynote address to 3,000+ attendees at RFID World 2005.
"At the edge of wireless networks, RFID with Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) and sensor technology will converge to unlock new applications that go beyond identification to include everything from authentication to temperature, time expiration, pressure and condition monitoring."
England outlined this vision of RFID at the edge of the network as one of three core elements of the company's RFID strategy in 2005, which includes bringing the value of RFID to enterprise applications in the retail supply chain, contactless commerce and pharmaceutical markets, as well as driving global standards to enable high-volume, high-quality manufacturing of RFID transponders and reader modules.
"Value, volume, vision is our business mantra as we accelerate our pace of wireless innovation and build on our heritage of making new markets for RFID," England said.
Texas Instruments has the critical wireless competencies that extend from its number one analog chip position in cell phones to its 15 years of innovation in wireless RFID highlighted by application milestones in automotive anti-theft and library books, to the Exxon/Mobil Speedpass™ payment system. The company is nearing a production milestone of 500 million RFID tags and is gearing up to produce billions of chips, straps, inlays and reader modules for retail supply chain, contactless commerce and pharmaceutical applications. TI is engaged with leading companies in the enterprise value chain in these markets including consumer packaged goods manufacturers (CPGs), retailers, credit card companies, point-of-sale (POS) terminal providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, label converter companies and systems integrators.
"TI's objective is to empower a host of new RFID applications and innovations that drive core business process transformation," said England. "We're capitalizing on our RF, wireless and packaging capabilities, manufacturing capacity and global resources to make this a reality and are ready to lead the industry toward new and innovative uses for the technology that improve business and consumer value."
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TI Delivers EPC Gen 2 Tag Emulators to RFID Reader and Printer Manufacturers
Texas Instruments is delivering EPC™ Generation 2 tag emulators to five of the leading RFID reader and printer manufacturers, helping to ensure interoperability between TI EPC Gen 2 transponders, and the readers and printers being manufactured based on the recently ratified EPCglobal Inc™ standard. In an effort that began in Q4 2004 in parallel with the company's Gen 2 product development, the reader and printer manufacturers are using the TI emulators to simulate 96-bit code read/write, lock, as well as other functionality defined by the EPC Gen 2 protocol, to facilitate their development of EPC Gen 2 products.
TI's delivery of EPC Gen 2 emulators is a milestone on the company's path to achieving interoperability of products in the market as it ramps to production of EPC Gen 2 chips, straps and inlays with sample deliveries to customers starting in Q2 2005 and volume production in Q3 2005.
"We're providing emulator boards early in the reader and printer development cycle so that our industry partners can get a jump start on attaining the highest level of interoperability of their products with our Gen 2 tags," said Tony Sabetti, UHF/Retail Supply Chain director, Texas Instruments RFid Systems.
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to top TI UHF Straps and Inlays to be Featured in Mark Andy RFID Conversion Equipment Demonstration
Mark Andy, the leading narrow web printing equipment manufacturer, will demonstrate to label and printer manufacturers its recently developed RFID strap and inlay insertion equipment incorporating RFID straps and inlays from Texas Instruments at its “RFID Focus” Educator Series, "In-Line RFID Solutions for Today's Converters" on April 27, 2005. Mark Andy's printing and converting technology, which uses an RFID inlay and strap insertion module developed by Tamarack Products, is a leading commercial product line available for companies seeking to integrate RFID technology into traditional narrow web label manufacturing lines. In addition to the RFID insertion demonstration, the event will cover a variety of key topics about RFID and EPC™ label production.
The TI-based RFID strap and inlay components will enable converters to produce finished EPC Gen 2 RFID labels for their customers either from reels of straps, that allow label converters to directly attach straps onto printed antennas, or from reels of inlays, in which the inlay (chip and antenna) is inserted into a label.
Mark Andy is in a unique position to provide a variety of print equipment technology to the global market because of its narrow web equipment design capabilities, financial strength, world class manufacturing capabilities, and strong position in key markets around the world. Mark Andy is poised to build a global presence of narrow web RFID technology.
Texas Instruments is the co-inventor of the flexible RFID inlay with the introduction of Tag-it™ in 1998 and has worked with leading label converter companies to build standardized smart label conversion processes for 13.56 MHz high-frequency (HF) RFID technology. TI's UHF inlay and strap product offering leverages this experience to deliver highly reliable products manufactured in high volume for ease of integration into existing and future label and printer processes.
"Major retailers and their CPG suppliers will be seeking EPC Gen 2 tag solutions in the billions in the coming years, and TI is well positioned to deliver the high volumes and high-yields that label and printer manufacturers demand," said Tony Sabetti, UHF/Retail Supply Chain director for Texas Instruments RFid Systems. "In cooperation with equipment market leaders such as Mark Andy, and label converting customers, we will provide solutions that these companies need to meet the growing demand for EPC Gen 2 tags."
"In-Line RFID Solutions for Today's Converters" is a day-long event aimed to educate printers and converters about fast-growing RFID applications. It will take place on April 27, 2005 at Mark Andy's Advanced Training and Technology Center in Milford, Ohio. For more information, contact Jenny Taylor at Mark Andy, Inc., 636-532-4433, ext. 360 or jtaylor@markandy.com
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CompTIA and RFID Leaders Developing RFID Certification
Texas Instruments, along with five other RFID organizations, has joined together with the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) to develop a vendor-neutral certification in RFID technology. The other organizations participating in this effort are: AIM Global, the worldwide authority on automatic identification, Intermec Technologies Corp., a global leader in the development, manufacture and integration of RFID technologies, OTA Training, a provider of in-depth, relevant and practical RFID training, ScanSource, a value-added distributor of specialty technologies in North America, Latin America and Europe, and FC Business Systems a provider of end-to-end RFID integration services, specializing in in-transit visibility of the supply chain.
"These organizations represent the full range of players in the RFID market, from product manufacturers and distributors to education and training providers to the end-user," said David Sommer, vice president, electronic commerce, CompTIA. "This cross-section of industry representation assures that the certification of RFID skills will address the hardware, software and business process needs created by RFID."
Creating a vendor-neutral certification that provides a standard method of measuring competencies in the technologies in use today and planned for tomorrow will deliver benefits to the entire industry. In some instances, the benefits will come in the form of lower costs for activities such as training, recruiting and hiring. A certification that validates technical skills and on-the-job experience also has the potential to help grow the RFID market; and help minimize the impact of the "disenchantment valley" that often is part of the adoption curve for new technologies.
"Organizations can more readily determine the ability of their business partners to deliver RFID solutions through the use of an industry accepted certification," Sommer explained. "Customers will have more confidence in working with solutions providers with demonstrated and validated expertise in RFID. The industry as a whole will be better equipped to deliver more RFID implementations, producing more revenue for individual companies using the certification."
CompTIA certification programs are the recognized industry standards for a broad range of IT skills. The association currently offers 11 vendor-neutral certifications. Approximately 700,000 IT professionals around the world hold CompTIA certifications, which validate technical expertise.
For more information please visit http://www.comptia.org or contact Steven Ostrowski at +1 (630) 678 8468 or sostrowski@comptia.org.
back to top National RFid Center and AMTSystems Join Team Tag-it™
Texas Instruments recently announced that the National RFid Center and AMTSystems have joined its growing roster of Team Tag-it™ member companies. More than 125 RFID hardware and software suppliers, printer, reader and antenna manufacturers and systems integrators have joined the program since it was established in March 2000.
The National RFid Center provides RFID and convergent technologies consulting, integration and implementation services and products. Supporting both technical and education oriented initiatives, the National RFid Center focuses on transportation, supply chain, healthcare, homeland security and ports of entry related programs, including the "Airport of the Future."
"We are dedicated to helping our clients with their RFID and convergent technology related security, asset management, and RFID compliance needs," said Kurt Wall, president and co-founder of the National RFid Center. "Our affiliation with Team Tag-it strengthens the quality and depth of experience and expertise we bring to our clients around the globe."
AMTSystems has been a leader and pioneer in developing automatic identification and RFID solutions for the healthcare and life sciences market since 1988. The company's SURGICHIP™ solution, which leverages Tag-it™ ISO/IEC 15693 technology from Texas Instruments, is the market's first FDA-approved, RFID verification system designed to help prevent wrong-patient, wrong procedure and wrong-site surgeries. AMTSystems has also developed an RFID blood transfusion verification system, Patient Safe™ Transfuse ID, which is currently being tested by Georgetown University Hospital. These RFID-based solutions are helping healthcare organizations streamline operations and improve patient safety, while complying with industry mandates and regulations.
"Membership in TI's Team Tag-it program affords us an excellent opportunity to bring our solutions to an even broader group of interested organizations," said Peter Stanchfield, director of AMTSystems' RFID Division. "We look forward to sharing our expertise in developing RFID systems for healthcare and life science organizations with TI and other Team Tag-it members."
TI's Team Tag-it program assists companies like the National RFid Center and AMTSystems in implementing smart label solutions in their customers' businesses. Team Tag-it offers its members marketing, sales and networking opportunities, and provides a forum for sharing resources to further strengthen the market for RFID smart labels. For more information on the Team Tag-it program and its members, please visit http://www.ti-rfid.com.
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